By Rob Richie and Cynthia TerrellPublished June 29th 2009 in Roll Call

In the midst of
the heated rhetoric surrounding Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s potential
ascension to the Supreme Court, it’s time to ask how much we value fair
representation, particularly of women.

Ruth
Bader Ginsburg is the only female justice on the court — and only the
second in history. In light of such imbalance, it was widely accepted
that President Barack Obama would nominate a woman. Sotomayor’s
potential to be the court’s first Latina member also was an
unquestioned factor in her selection.

Ironically,
Sotomayor has stirred most controversy for a 2001 speech on the role of
a judge’s background in which she said, “I would hope that a wise
Latina woman, with the richness of her experiences, would more often
than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived
that life.”

While
not particularly politic, her statement essentially explains the
consensus behind the value of nominating a woman and person of color.
Having diverse representation isn’t just for show: There are
substantive reasons to value people with different backgrounds and
experiences. From their earliest years on playgrounds and in schools,
girls and boys are treated differently. Women are more likely to be the
primary caregivers of children and the elderly. They are more likely to
have close friends who are women, sharing their experiences at work and
in relationships.

A
Latina also will have different experiences than many other Americans,
and her community of family and friends will experience a different
side of our society. There’s nothing wrong with recognizing that when
judges confront the thorniest issues dividing our society, a court
grounded in more diverse experience will engage in deeper conversation
and produce more complete, representative decisions. Courts must vote
“yea” or “nay,” but there is much room for nuance in how opinions are
shaped and written.

The
demand for greater diversity is equally compelling for our legislature.
A Supreme Court with six white men, one African-American man and two
women doesn’t look like America, but reflects it more than today’s
Congress. Only 17 percent of Senators are women — higher than the
appalling 2 percent level at the time of Justice Clarence Thomas’
nomination but far short of parity. Eighty-three percent of House
Members are men. Only three Senators are African-American or Latino.
With Florida’s Mel Martinez (R) retiring and Illinois’ Roland Burris
(D) plagued by scandal, their numbers could soon dwindle to one.

Across
our 50 states, only seven women serve as governors, eight as lieutenant
governors and four as attorneys general. The number of women in state
legislatures is 24 percent, only slightly higher than the 21 percent
rate of female state legislators 15 years ago. The South Carolina state
Senate lacks even a single female member, and the number of Republican
female state Representatives is at its lowest since 1988.

It’s
time to address such distortions in representation directly. Just as
the Obama administration found numerous women highly qualified to serve
on the Supreme Court, parties and interest groups should look harder
for qualified female candidates. Not every potentially strong candidate
will nominate herself — she may need to be asked.

The
biggest barriers are our current electoral laws. In the spirit of
President Obama’s belief in the importance of more women serving on the
Supreme Court, he should establish a national commission to examine
barriers to election of women and people of color. Substantive reforms
should be on the table, such as an increase in the size of the U.S.
House, multi-seat districts rather than single-member districts,
proportional voting rather than winner-take-all, and inclusion of
gender in the Voting Rights Act.

If
Sotomayor is confirmed, we don’t want to wait another generation for a
third woman justice. Many women are well-prepared to serve on the court
and in other high offices. Once they do, we expect their “richness of
experiences” will strengthen our institutions — not to make better
decisions than men, necessarily, but to contribute to decisions and
policies more representative of our nation.

Rob Richie is executive director of FairVote in Takoma Park, Md. Cynthia Terrell works in FairVote’s Program for Representative Government.